Resilience and Shared Humanity Theme Analysis

While Willie Dunne fights on the Western Front during World War I, he takes heart in stories, songs, and prayers. Stories help keep his fear at bay and connect him to his fellow soldiers. Songs are like a healing balm to him, and he finds solace in singing with his comrades. Prayers led by Father Buckley strengthen Willie, bring him courage, and offer him glimpses of hope and meaning even in dark, gruesome battlefields. Willie perseveres through the horrors of war by drawing comfort from words, music, and faith, which demonstrates his resilience.

In fact, the novel suggests that turning to storytelling, music, and faith for comfort and encouragement in times of suffering is a natural human impulse. Willie is not the only soldier to rely on words, songs, and prayers for the motivation to keep fighting. Many of his comrades also take comfort in telling stories, reading books, and making jokes to raise their own and one another’s spirits. Other Irishmen in the British Army enjoy bawdy marching songs and religious hymns alike, just as Willie does. Similarly, many soldiers in Willie’s company find their fears and sorrows soothed by prayers and religious services, which ground them in their common faith. Moreover, German soldiers sing too—their songs confirm to Willie that his enemies aren’t distant monsters but are fellow people instead. All of these men’s reliance on words, music, and faith to help them survive the war points to their shared humanity. A Long Long Way thus illustrates how people on all sides of the conflict are connected by their common search for meaning, comfort, strength, and resilience through storytelling, music, and faith.